The king’s visit, his first to an overseas realm as sovereign, comes amid revived debate over whether Australia should cut ties with the royal family and become a republic instead.

King Charles III has expressed “deep love and affection” for Australia, a former part of the British Empire. As he visits the country this weekend, he may find that Australians don’t feel quite as much affection for him.

Charles and Queen Camilla arrived Friday evening local time in Sydney, where a tribute on the sails of the city’s iconic opera house displayed a four-minute montage of images from previous royal visits.

Charles, 75, is Britain’s first reigning monarch to visit Australia in 13 years. His Oct. 18-26 trip to Australia and the Pacific island nation of Samoa marks his first visit to overseas realms since becoming king and his first major foreign trip since his cancer diagnosis.

Australia is one of 14 countries outside Britain where he remains the head of state, a role that is largely symbolic. All of them are members of the Commonwealth, a voluntary group of 56 independent states that were almost all formerly under British rule.